(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the digitization of media objects such as X-ray films. More specifically, the invention relates to an autofeeder for media objects in a digitizing system.
(2) Background
In recent years there has been a trend for digitizing media objects such as, for example, X-ray films to render the images thereon easily transmissible from remote locations for reading, and also in an effort to reduce storage requirements. Various systems are available for performing this digitization, including the CobraScan® X-ray scanner available from Radiographic Digital Imaging, Inc. of Compton, Calif. That system includes a clip which accepts a single X-ray film and transports it in front of a imaging window through which an image sensing array captures an image of the X-ray film, thereby digitizing the X-ray image. Where large numbers of X-rays are to be digitized, each one must be manually inserted into the clip before initiating the scanning procedure. This labor-intensive system deters the digitization of large existing libraries of X-ray films, and reduces the convenience of, for example, exchanging a patient's medical history between remote sites, where numerous X-rays are involved.